Now, I write the Cactus Juice Commentaries for the Chicano Veterans Organization on their web site. And no, this is not an advert plug.

As an aside, I was going to write a commentary on Newt Gingrich, in a snark-fun fashion in response to his ‘advice’ to DOJ’s Holder regarding a ‘nation of cowards’ when it comes to addressing race in America. But then, as a military vet, ‘taking on’ Gringrich for his usual nonsense, would be a wasted effort on my part, and of course, Gringrich makes it far too easy for folks like myself to poke fun at him. Thus, an unfair contest, to my way of thinking.

Therefore, I will not go off on a tangent to rip Gringrich to threads. Consequently, I will remain within the framework of this thread.

So, when it comes to the Pentagon budget, I much prefer to see that ‘issues’ that are not in the budget but should be, and therefore, imposes far greater inflexibility for Pentagon spending makes my political juices flow and spread outward.

Thus, my notional for an “academic-military” Draft, meets my criteria for the inflexibility of Pentagon spending. If you have ever been subjected to a military draft and prior to 1976, defending our country was considered “american” and yet, in today’s political environment, and compared to “prior-1976″, the GI Bill was an American Godsend, by folks like me who had it available and took advantage of America’s “common-wealth”.

Simply put, my brand of an “academic-military” Draft would require three-year enlistment period in which each ‘volunteer’ would spend 50% of his or her time in uniform, attending a class room environment in order to achieve a two-year degree in General Studies or an Associate of Arts Degree. The remaining 50% would be spent attending to the military mission, from physical fitness to a physical self-defense regimen and to even include safety and survival tactics. And why the physical self-defense regimen? There would be a sizable drop in crime and safety, and far less legislative spending for having to build and operate prisons, as well as less assualt and rape, that is ongoing in daily life. (Now I am going off on a tangent, and my apologies.) But you can envision these intangible benefits, and done quite easily.

Now if you’re a parent, imagine if you will that the need for scrimping and saving a few dollars every week for your child’s college education, would not be an undue burden. As such, it would still be necessary if it were your intent to send your child off to a private educational institution, but if your druthers were to send this child off to college at at public institution, your financial burden would be removed since the cost for attending this inherent class room environment within the “academic-military” Draft would be effectively romoved and shifted to America’s “common-wealth”.

Consequently, you son or daughter would recognize that as a “volunteer”, you son or daughter would have disconnected himself or herself from Big Mama’ apron strings. To wit, you son or daughter would be ‘enabled’ for “standing on their two own feed” and without much further ado. As to completion of this ‘volunteerism’ institutions of higher learning would be standing three-deep in order to recruit them as students, and inclusive for the avialability for loans, grants, and scholarships, notwithstanding. In short, prior experience for discipline, competiviness and academic history, would make each person a shoo-in for being highly recruited, even by our private educational institutions, such as Harvard, et.al.

And after discharge, you son or daughter could walk down to the local office of a financial institution and borrow the monies to complete the third and fourth years of academics and in which the loan would be guaranteed by the Pentagon, as part and parcel to its budget allocation for spending our taxpayer dollars.

Now, I realize that this thread is one primarily focused on the ‘black boxes’ that are invariably found in the Pentagon budget, but this fails to address, the far important political behavior for creating “human capital” in contrast to crafting ‘widgets’ and in which these widgets lose their inherent value over time due to planned obsolences and transformation of technology to higher levels. And to reach these ‘higher levels’ requires added education, not less and the creation of ever more ‘human captial’ is required.

And which brings me to the point of my main ‘concern’ and the ever-increasing numbers of high-school dropouts. Among my community, primarily Chicanos and Native Americans here in Arizona and across the Southwest, the loss of any economic viability and future for these dropouts, is on the downside for Progress and integration, unless criminality is considered. And given the natiness and meanness of the Republicans for political disenfranchisement, high school dropouts, will have a rougher go than alomost anyone in our society, and being the Underdog requires defending the Underdog. And of course, being an Underdog without having to take a pill is the way to go. (Okay, this is a joke, and some might not get my reference to the cartoon character.)

In conclusion, an “academic-military” draft, discombobulates America’s political Right for their distaste for having to place themselves a “personal risk” for lacing up the combat boots and strapping on the body armor. And if the Right does not want to defend America, in good times and bad times, having Republican “volunteers” in our midst would lessen their political impact, given that once a person from the Southwest get’s to know a person from the Northeast, political skirmishes become the defacto mindset among those of us who recognize ourselves as Brethren of Share Experiences. And far less civil unrest, to my way of thinking.

And finally, as to paying for the cost of an “academic-military” Draft, the Pentagon either loses or wastes an approximate 20% of their Congressional allocation. So, paying ‘for it’ is easily do-able, nonethless. Furthermore, another stark choice to be made, “human capital” or “widgets”?

Jaango

Jaango

Be good to yourselves, and all other living things.

Namaste